Dole Turns Pineapple Waste Into Vegan Leather

Food company Dole Sunshine is utilising its pineapple waste into sustainable vegan leather. 

The company has just partnered with Ananas Anam, the makers of a plant-based leather alternative called Pinatex. 

Pinatex leather was developed from pineapple leaves by Spanish designer Carmen Hijosa in 2016. The organic material is treated with pigments and coatings and becomes a durable base to make vegan leather. 

Both businesses will now work to reduce waste by using the spare pineapple leaves from the Dole’s plantations and factories to manufacture the ethical leather alternative. The new partnership is part of Dole’s plans to have zero fruit loss by 2025. 

Thanks to the new supply chain Ananas Anam will be able to cut its carbon emissions. The new manufacturing process will save 264 tons of carbon emissions from the 825 tons of leaves that otherwise would be burned.

“Through our partnership with Dole, our entity in the Philippines will access a much larger volume of pineapple leaf fibres, to meet the ever-increasing demand for Piñatex not only in fashion but also in the upholstery and automotive sectors,” Ananas Anam CEO Melanie Broye-Engelkes said. 

“Working closely with Dole’s teams on the ground will help us to create a wider positive social impact among farming communities and to continuously reduce our environmental footprint by valorising waste at scale.”